Friday, April 30, 2010

First of all, apologies for being so absent from the internet as of late—let alone this blog. This has been one crazy-busy-fun month for me, and wrapping up April has meant getting the first issue of Heeby Jeeby Comix ready for press. Over the past week I collected up all the comics from Chris, David, and Dan. We have a 32-page full color book at the printer right now; we're using ComiXpress for starters because (A) they are affordable for color, and (B) they offer print-on-demand. More to come on that.

The guys were kind enough to offer me the cover, but I didn't get around to drawing it up until this past Sunday (my first available window in a long time). I had the concept in mind (creatures reading comics), so I started in Flash by mocking up a quick color study. I knew I wanted to use "heeby jeeby green" throughout. And because we really want this book to appeal to kids, I also knew I wanted a blend cute and weird—not to have it be too bizarre or gross.

Then, it was off the computer to the drawing table.(I've uploaded these higher res than usual...so go ahead and click on them)

And inked up (below is the raw scan).

I couldn't be more excited to get our first shipment of books, due to arrive just before the Maine Comics Arts Festival (MeCAF) which I am attending on May 22-23. This will be your first opportunity to get your hands on a copy of Heeby Jeeby Comix #1. Because of rush order fees, I could only afford 30 books this time around, but we'll be looking into print-on-demand distribution through ComiXpress (leading to a simple "BUY" button to click on the Heeby Jeeby Comix blog).

If you're local to New England, I highly recommend MeCAF. It is a near perfect comics event—only in its second year. This will be my first year with a table. I'll have tons of ARGH! Comics (imported from Spain) in addition to other goodies. See you there!

Sunday, April 04, 2010

I was on Twitter and Facebook last night, relaying an Easter story. It goes a little something like this:

When I was a kid, my dad told me the Easter Bunny was a tall and skinny creature, with a purple diamond in the middle of his forehead. On Easter eve, he would come into your house and shoot a purple beam of light out of the diamond—filling the Easter baskets one by one with candy and treats. ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! My dad said one of my uncles witnessed it happening (who told him, and now he told me).

It basically scared the hell out of me. Don't get me wrong, I loved what the Easter Bunny brought—but the idea of a humanoid rabbit with a diamond on his head definitely got me thinking. I was scared enough by the idea of a magical bearded man in a red suit coming into my house; the Easter Bunny was a creature. I didn't risk getting up early—normally staying in bed until morning.

After typing away last night, I figured I should take a stab at drawing one of these rabbit creatures. This is one version I came up with. It would be fun to do a proper illustration some day....purple it up with the beam of light.